Jefferson Awards: Mary Chambers Monford: Impacting Youth For 50 Years

LIMA — Mary Chambers Monford has been impacting young people in Lima for more than 50 years, and now she is being recognized as a 2017 Jefferson Award winner. “I’m very humbled to have been nominated for this award,” Monford said. “When I do things, I don’t think about the accolades and the pats on the back, it’s just what I love to do.” Monford has been described by her peers as a mentor who inspires Lima’s youth to become “purposeful, successful adults.” Mary Iiames, who nominated Monford for the award, said she has witnessed firsthand how the longtime Lima resident positively impacts the children, youth and young adults in the community. “Her life and her purpose has made a difference in so many others’ lives, and she continues to press forward even today after a half century of service to others,” Iiames wrote in her Jefferson Award nomination. Twenty-nine years ago, Monford began organizing “Positive Role Model Sleepovers” for boys and girls.